Mahatma Gandhi’s personal cutlery put on sale in England

A metal food bowl, two wooden spoons and a wooden fork owned and used by Mahatma Gandhi during his incarceration at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune and at the house of shipping magnate Sumati Morarjee in Mumbai have been put on sale in Bristol. Photo Inside

A metal food bowl, two wooden spoons and a wooden fork owned and used by Mahatma Gandhi during his incarceration at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune and at the house of shipping magnate Sumati Morarjee in Mumbai have been put on sale in Bristol.

The sale, organised by Paul Fraser Collectibles, is priced at £75,000. A representative of the company told Hindustan Times that the sale is being done privately, there will be no auction. The company said it specialises in unique and historically significant collectibles.

“There has been a lot of interest among wealthy Indians in London”, he said.

Describing the Gandhi items, the company said the items were "without doubt the one of the most historically important collections" it had put up for sale. The provenance of the items has been attributed to ‘the collection of Sumati Morarjee’.

The food bowl is approximately 2½” high by 8” in diameter and carries the stamped numbers to its base ‘208/42’. The spoons and fork are approximately 6½” in length. All items are in good condition, it said.

“According to Morarjee family lore, the utensils were used by Gandhi during his incarceration at the Aga Khan’s palace in Pune from August 9, 1942, to May 6, 1944, and then taken to their home at Juhu Beach,” the company said.

The description of the items says: “Gandhi first visited the ‘Palm-Bun’ house in 1915 after his return from South Africa. He also spent extended periods of time at the home, most notably in 1924 after his surgery for appendicitis and in 1944 after his release from detention at the Aga Khan’s palace in Pune”.